Andrew Tate indictment: what are the charges he and his brother are accused of in Romania?

Romanian prosecutors have brought charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang against the controversial British-American influencer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, it was confirmed on Tuesday. Two Romanian suspects have also been indicted.

The four defendants were arrested in December in Romania, where they were held in police custody until March. Since then, they have been under house arrest in the eastern-European country.

Victims lured by ‘lover boy method’, prosecutors say

In a statement, Romania’s anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, said prosecutors believe the Tates and their co-defendants created a criminal gang in early 2021 “to commit the crime of human trafficking on the territory of Romania, but also in other countries, such as the United States of America and Great Britain”.

It is claimed that the quartet used what prosecutors are describing as the ‘lover boy method’ to recruit seven alleged victims with false promises of love and marriage. The individuals were taken to buildings in Ilfov County, which surrounds the Romanian capital of Bucharest, and were coerced into producing pornographic content that was distributed online, prosecutors say.

“By exercising acts of physical violence and mental coercion (through intimidation, constant surveillance, control and invoking alleged debts), they were sexually exploited by group members by forcing them to perform pornographic demonstrations in order to produce and disseminate materials having such a character through social media platforms,” DIICOT said.

One of the defendants raped an alleged victim twice in March 2022, the agency said, noting that a defendant is also facing a charge of instigating others to violence.

DIICOT added that prosecutors have confiscated assets from the Tate brothers including Romanian properties, luxury cars and watches, cash and cryptocurrency.

Tates “embrace opportunity” of trial

The Tates deny the charges brought against them. “We embrace the opportunity [a trial] presents to demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation,” a spokesperson for their legal team said, per Reuters. On Tuesday, Andrew Tate tweeted: “Im sure this case has absolutely nothing to do with stealing my wealth.”

Human trafficking and rape both reportedly carry prison sentences of up to 10 years in Romania.